As Republicans scramble to avert yet another GOP government shutdown by midnight on Friday, Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) warned them that if they want Democratic help, they will need to show some respect via concessions.
“If they want us to vote for some bills we have to have some cooperation on what they are,” she told reporters at a news conference Friday.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/3rDLmYRMTgg
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“Wait a minute. Wait a minute, newsbreak, the Republicans control the Congress. They control the House, they control the Senate, and they have the signature in the White House. They have the votes to keep government open. They have the votes to keep government open, they don’t need us to keep government open. And we have never been about shutting government down.”
“If they want us to vote for some bills we have to have some cooperation on what they are.”
What does the Leader mean by “some cooperation”?
Thursday evening, Pelosi urged House Democrats to refuse to work with Republicans on the Continuing Resolution unless they respect basic Democratic values and priorities, such as veterans, pensions, and DREAMers.
Nancy Pelosi is urging House Democrats to vote NO on the Continuing Resolution unless Dems "see a respect for our values and priorities". pic.twitter.com/U51FPMaHjf
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 20, 2017
Progressive and liberal leaders thanked Pelosi.
The co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible Team:
#Leader. Thank you @NancyPelosi. Now it's your turn @SenSchumer. Your Twitter background banner says "I stand with Dreamers." Will you and @SenateDems vote to deport them this week? https://t.co/thpoTJcnyf
— Ezra No Dream No Vote Levin (@ezralevin) December 21, 2017
The Washington Director of Move On:
Thanks, @NancyPelosi, for standing strong here. The whole progressive movement stands with Dreamers. https://t.co/SzegONMLpH
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) December 21, 2017
Indeed, this is exactly what these groups wanted:
This is the position groups like @UNITEDWEDREAM, @IndivisibleTeam, & @MoveOn have been calling on for months, and they'll be thrilled Pelosi's holding the linehttps://t.co/168PEzHDj7
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_Wonkblog) December 21, 2017
While she gets very little acknowledgement for being the reliable spine of the Democratic Party (a fact that I partly attribute to the nature of being a politician and partly to her being a woman), Pelosi always manages to get her caucus to deliver on important Democratic and liberal values.
We wouldn’t have Obamacare without her.
If you compare Pelosi’s record (as Speaker and as Minority Leader) to former Speaker Boehner and now Speaker Ryan, is quite a feat. She’s holding strong for veterans, pensions, DREAMers and more.
If Republicans want Democrats to rescue them from themselves again, they’re going to need to show a modicum of bipartisanship.
Pelosi continues her reign as the true spine of the Democratic Party as she holds strong for liberal values. But this time, she’s finally getting some thanks.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
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